Economic and social development has led to a constant increase in the world population with the need to improve food supply systems, the situation that requires the use of agrochemicals, since these chemicals in agriculture are necessary, since it deals with more agricultural production to avoid the spread of diseases transmitted by vectors, such as insects, mites and rodents. However, the benefits provided by these may be accompanied by a series of negative effects on the health of the population, on natural and hydrobiological ecosystems, and on flora and fauna.
Cases of pesticide poisoning are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, in developed countries, incidents of acute exposure to these substances are rare in humans, due to both the severe restrictions on the use of these products and the use of new substances of lower toxicity for mammals and others. species, but fundamentally to strict compliance with the current legal framework, therefore, at present, the concern of researchers is focused on the chronic or long-term effects of these chemicals, since even so, new agrochemicals are introduced to the market with greater selectivity on the vector to be controlled and therefore less toxicity for non-target organisms, the critical of its danger at times is the manner and conditions of its application. In developing countries, on the other hand, epidemiological studies estimate that 25 million people per year would suffer from some form of agrochemical poisoning, due to poor product regulation, lack of surveillance systems, and lower compliance with standards.
The inappropriate use of agrochemicals is a problem of great importance because they are constantly applied in agricultural areas generate waste that can contaminate biota, soil, bodies of water and air, affecting trophic chains, resulting, in many cases, in damage to the human being These substances can be absorbed quickly through the respiratory, ocular, dermal, and digestive tract, as well as having disruptive effects on the endocrine system, considering themselves potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic, they also affect the nervous and immune system, as well as accumulating in the fatty tissue, being these most notorious findings in developing countries. Therefore, it is clear that the harmful effects of these substances are not limited to people who have direct contact with the substances, but involves people indirectly exposed, by living in the vicinity of the areas of application or deposit of agrochemical . being the prolonged exposures to low levels of agrochemicals that constitute major problem, since they are cause of effects such as teratogenesis, mutations, cancer, hepatic and renal alterations, just to name a few.
In this sense, families that inhabit the land near cultivated fields are exposed to the effects of xenobiotics, through environmental and occupational exposure. Since, in general, all family members collaborate in agricultural tasks, exposure can begin at a very early age or from conception, especially when basic protection measures such as inappropriate application techniques are not taken. Fumigation equipment in poor condition, lack of protective equipment, poor technical advice, illiteracy, incorrect hygienic measures, ignorance of the toxicity and the time of permanence of pesticides, which contributes to health risks extending to the population in general, generating, consequently, a public health problem.
The WHO for 2008 estimated an annual worldwide incidence of 3 million cases of poisoning, with some 50,000 deaths of children under 4 years. It is true that the use of chemical products can increase agricultural productivity, as well as control or eradicate some vectors of diseases; however, they are harmful agents that generate a public health problem of great importance, however the extent of the situation is still unknown, given that health systems do not detect all cases of acute poisoning, consequently, to a lesser extent performs surveillance on chronic poisoning from exposure to these products.
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